THE RULES AND BY-LAWS 

OF THE 

^oart) of #berstcrs of fiarfaarb Colltgt; 



TO WHICH IS APPENDED 



THE COLLEGE CHARTER, 



SUNDRY ACTS AND INSTRUMENTS RELATING TO THE 
POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE OVERSEERS. 




CAMBRIDGE, MASS. 
PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY. 

1890. 




In Board of Overseers of Harvard College, 
February 25, 1869. 

Resolved, that the Rules and By-Laws of the Board of Overseers as they 
now stand be printed, and be bound up in the existing books of the Rules, 
By-Laws, Charter, and other Acts and Instruments relating to the powers 
and duties of the Overseers, in place of the Rules and By-Laws and their 
Amendments now in such books, being the first eighteen pages of said 
books, and the Amendments to tlie same. 

Attest : 

NATHANIEL B. SHURTLEFF, 

Secretary. 



In Board op Overseers of Harvard College, 
November 20, 1889. 

Voted, That the Secretary be requested to have printed a new edition of 
the Rules and By-Laws of the Board. 

Attest : 

ALEXANDER McKENZIE, 

Secretary, 



RULES AKD BY-LAWS 



OVKRSEERS OF HARVARD COLLEGE. 



OFFICERS. 

Section 1. — The officers of the Board shall be a 
President and Secretary. 

Sect. 2. — The President shall be elected by ballot, at 
each annual meeting ; and shall hold his office for one year, 
and until his successor is chosen, if he so long continues a 
member of the Board. When a vacancy exists at any 
other time, it shall be filled for the remainder of the term. 
In the absence of the President, a president 2)^'o tempore 
shall be chosen by ballot. 

Sect. 3. — The Secretary, who may or may not be a 
member of the Board, shall be elected by ballot at the 
annual meeting in the year 1868, and every third year 
thereafter, and shall hold his office for the term of three 
years, and until his successor is elected and qualified. 
When a vacancy occurs at any other time, it shall be filled 
by election for the remainder of the term. In the absence 
of the Secretary, a secretary pro tempore shall be chosen. 



4 RULES AND BY-LAWS. 

MEETINGS. 

Section 4. — The annual meeting of the Overseers shall 
be held in Boston on the last Wednesday of September. 
The other stated meetings shall be held at Cambridge on 
Commencement Day, and at Boston on the second Wed- 
nesdays of January, April, and October in each year, at 
some central place to be selected by the Secretary, unless 
designated by the Board. Special meetings will be con- 
vened upon application made to the Secretary, in writing, 
by the President of the Board, by the President or Pres- 
ident and Fellows of the College, or by seven or more 
Overseers, setting forth the object of the meeting, its time 
and its place, either in Cambridge or Boston. Meetings 
may be held by adjournment at such times and places as 
the Board shall order. 

Sect. 5. — Notice of all meetings of the Board shall be 
given by the Secretary, or, in case of his absence, in- 
ability, or neglect, or of a vacancy in the office, by the 
President ; the notification of the meeting to specify its 
time and place, and, if a special one, its object ; and to be 
mailed to the address of each member at least seven days, 
and published in not less than two newspapers of Boston 
at least three days before the time of the meeting. Pro- 
vided, that in the case of a special meeting, alleged in the 
application therefor to be one of great urgency, notice will 
be sufficient if mailed four days before the same. And 
provided further, that when the Board adjourns to a certain 
day the Secretary, or in case of his inability the President, 



RULES AND BY-LAWS. 5 

shall mail a notice of such adjourned meeting to each mem- 
ber of the Board. 

Sect, (k — The votes and proceedings of the Overseers, 
with the names of the members present at each meetino- 
shall be recorded ; and the record shall l)e produced by 
the Secretary at the Overseers' meetings. At the open- 
ing of every meeting the journal of the precedinir meetino- 
shall be read by the Secretary, unless otherwise ordered. 

Sect. 7. — The Secretary shall have a list of the Over- 
seers ready to be produced at any meeting. He shall also 
acquaint the presiding officer, in writing, what Committees 
have not reported, and what business is l)y assignment 
to come before the Board. 

Sect. 8. — A quorum of not less than nine members 
shall be requisite for the transaction of any business, ex- 
cept adjourning, or obtaining the attendance of members. 

Sect. 9. — There shall always be presented an attested 
copy of such votes of the Corporation as are laid before 
the Overseers for their coniirmation ; and the Secretary 
shall, from time to time, and as soon as conveniently may 
be, deliver to the President of the University an attested 
copy of the votes of the Overseers, to be by him commu- 
nicated to the Corporation. 

Sect. 10. — The Overseers will not receive any votes 
from the Corporation as to giving degrees on Commence- 
ment Day, except such as shall be presented before ten 
o'clock in the forenoon of that day ; and the grounds and 



6 RULES AND BY-LAWS. 

reasons of the Corporation for conferring occasional de- 
crees shall be laid before the Overseers. 

Sect. 11. — When the consent of the Overseers shall 
be asked to a vote of the Corporation electing any person 
to be a member of the Corporation, an officer of instruction 
or government, or a lecturer in the University, or con- 
ferring on any person an honorary degi-ee, the decision 
shall be by ballot ; except in the case of officers of instruc- 
tion or government appointed for not more than one year. 

Sect. 12. — No nomination of a member of the Corpora- 
tion or of a permanent Professor shall be ratified by the 
Board except at a meeting or adjournment held on seven 
days' notice ; nor shall any such nomination be finally 
acted on at the meeting or adjournment at which it shall 
have been made. 

Sect. 13. — All Committees shall be nominated by the 
presiding officer, excepting in those cases where it may 
be otherwise determined by the Overseers ; and the person 
first named shall be chairman. 

Sect. 14. — When any member shall require a question 
to be determined by yeas and nays, the President shall 
take the sense of the Board in that manner, provided that 
one fourth part of the members present shall be in favor 
of it. 

Sect. 15. — Whenever a question shall be taken by 
yeas and nays, the Secretary shall call the names of all the 
members, except the President ; and no member shall be 



RULES AND BY-LAWS. 7 

permitted to vote after the decision is announced from 
the chair. 

Sect. 16. — No member shall speak more than once 
on one question, to the prevention of any other who has 
not spoken, and is desirous to speak ; nor more than twice, 
without leave of the Board. 

Sect. 17. — When two or more members rise at once, 
the President shall name the member who is to speak first. 

Sect. 18. — Every member, when he speaks, shall 
stand in his place, and address the presiding officer as 
"Mr. President," and shall confine himself to the question 
under debate. 

Sect. 19. — No member speaking shall be interrupted 
by another, but by rising to call to order. 

Sect. 20. — After a question is put to vote, no member 
shall speak to it. 

Sect. 21. — Every motion shall be reduced to writing 
if the President direct it ; and no member shall be per- 
mitted to lay a motion in writing on the table, until he 
has read it in his place. 

Sect. 22. — A question containing two or more pro- 
positions capable of division shall be divided, whenever 
desired by any member. 

Sect. 23. — If any member shall rise to doubt a vote 
upon its being declared from the chair, the President shall 
ascertain the number voting in the affirmative and in the 
negative, without any further debate. He may vote on 



5 RULES AND BY-LAWS. 

all questions ; but shall not be required to do so, unless 
the Board shall be equally divided, or unless his vote, if 
given in the minority, would affect the result. 

Sect. 24. — When a vote has passed, it shall be in 
order for any member to move a reconsideration on the 
same day ; and, when a motion for reconsideration is 
decided, that decision shall not be reconsidered. 

Sect. 25. — The rules of parliamentary proceeding, as 
received and practised in the Legislature of this Common- 
wealth, shall govern the Board in all cases to which they 
are applicable, and in which they are not inconsistent with 
these Rules and By-Laws. 

COMMITTEES. 

Section 2(3 . — There shall be the following Committees, 

— the first to consist wholly of ex officio members ; the 

others to be appointed at the annual meeting, or at some 

subsequent meeting, in such manner as the Board may 

determine : — 

1. A Committee to visit the University, to consist of the Pres- 
ident and Secretary of this Board, the Governor and Lieutenant- 
Governor of the Commonwealth, the President of the Senate, 
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Secretary of 
the Board of Education, and the Chairman of each of the sev- 
eral committees appointed to visit the departments of the Uni- 
versity. This Committee shall be invited to attend the annual 
Commencement and other public exercises of the University, 
or any of its departments, and to I'epresent this Board and the 
Commonwealth thereat ; the President of the College, or some 
other officer charged with the duty, giving the members of said 
Committee due notice of such occasions. 



RULES AND BY-LAWS. V 

2. The followiug Standing Committees of the Board of Over- 
seers : — 

(a) Committee on Elections. 

(&) Committee on Reports and Resolutions. 
The Committee on Elections shall consist of five members, 
and the Committee on Reports and Resolutions of seven mem- 
bers, all of whom shall be elective members of this Board. 
It shall be the duty of the Committee on Reports and Resolutions 
to receive the annual reports of the several committees after they 
have been read before this Board, and consider and report 
whether any, and, if any, what action is called for by the same ; 
and also to attend to any other business that may be referred 
to them from time to time by this Board, and report thereon. 

3. A Committee to visit the Divinity School. 

4. A Committee to visit the Law School. 

5. „A Committee to visit the Medical and Dental Schools. 

6. A Committee to visit the Veterinary School. 

7. A Committee to visit the Bussey Institution. 

8. A Committee to visit the Librarj'. 

9. A Committee to visit the Observatory. 

10. A Committee to visit the Botanic Garden and Herbarium. 

11. A Committee to visit the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 

12. A Committee to visit the Peabody Museum. 

13. A Committee to visit the Arnold Arboretum. 

14. A Committee to visit the Lawrence Scientific School. 

15. A Committee to visit the Physical Laboratory. 

16. A Committee to visit the Chemical Laboratorj'. 

17. A Committee on Physical Training, Athletic Sports, and 

the Sanitary Condition of all Buildings. 

18. A Committee on the Administration of the Universitj- 

Chapel. 

19. A Committee to examine the Treasurer's Accounts. 

Each of the foregoing committees to visit schools or depart- 
ments shall consist of six or more members, of whom not less 
than one shall be an elective member of this Board, except in 
the case of the Committee on Treasurer's Accounts, of which 



10 RULES AND BY-LAWS. 

Committee not less than three shall be elective members of this 
Boai'd. Persons not in the Board of Overseers may be appointed 
to serve on any of the visiting committees. 

20. A Committee to visit the College, to consist of at least six 
members, of whom not less than four shall be elective members 
of this Board. The duty of this Committee shall be to learn 
what are the methods of government and instruction in the Col- 
lege, and to take such measures as in their judgment will best 
enable them to report in full on the conditions, wants, and pros- 
pects of the institution. 

In addition to the foregoing committees, there shall each year 
be such other committees to visit and examine into the Courses 
of Instruction as the Board shall appoint at the annual meeting 
or at some subsequent meeting. Such committees shall consist 
of not less than three members, and persons not Overseers may 
be appointed to serve upon them. 

The members of all committees shall be notified of their ap- 
pointment, with a request that they serve, by the Secretary of 
the Board, unless otherwise ordered. When a vacancy occurs 
in a committee, the chairman shall immediately notify the Sec- 
retary of the Board. 

Sect. 27. — The several Visiting Committees of the 
Departments of the University and those appointed to visit 
and examine into the Courses of Instruction, may employ 
paid experts or specialists to aid them in the performance 
of their duties when authorized so to do by a vote of the 
Board of Overseers. Any Committee desiring such expert 
assistance shall first submit for approval a written appli- 
cation to the Board, setting forth the nature and estimated 
cost thereof. 

Sect. 28. — The several Visiting Committees shall re- 
port in writing at least once in three years, and their 



RULES AND BY-LAWS. 11 

reports, after they have been read before the Board, shall 
be open to discussion at the meeting at which they are 
presented, and at the close of the next meeting, unless 
otherwise ordered, shall be referred to the Committee on 
Reports and Resolutions. Each Committee shall hold 
early in the academic year at least one meeting with all 
the professors and assistant professors in the Department 
or Course of Instruction such Committee is appointed to 
visit, in order to receive suggestions, inquire into defects 
and needs, hear complaints, and give encouragement and 
counsel. 

Sect. 29. — The apparatus, libraries, and scientific 
collections belonging to the several departments of the 
University shall be examined and reported on by the Com- 
mittees appointed to visit said departments respectively. 

Sect. 30. — After the report of the Committee on 
Reports and Resolutions is received and acted upon by 
this Board, the reports of the Visiting Committees shall 
annually be printed in a volume for the use of this Board 
and of the officers of instruction of the University. A 
certified copy of the record of the action of the Committee 
on Reports and Resolutions, with the printed volume of 
Reports on which it is founded, shall be referred to the 
Corporation. 

ELECTIONS. 

Section 31 . — The election of Overseers on Commence- 
ment Day in each year shall be held in some suitable room 
within the College yard, in Cambridge ; notice of the time 



12 RULES AND BY-LAWS. 

and place of Avhich, and of the hours during which the 
polls will 1)6 kept open, and of the number of Overseers to 
be elected, shall be given by the President and Secretary, 
1)y publication in two newspapers printed in the city of 
Boston, the first publication to be two weeks before the 
day of election. 

Sect. 32. — At some meeting before each election, 
there shall be appointed by the Board, upon nomination 
by the President, one principal and two assistant inspectors 
of polls, who, before entering upon their duties, shall be 
sworn to the faithful discharge thereof. 

Sect. 33. — The President and Secretary shall issue a 
warrant under their hands to the persons appointed in- 
spectors of polls ; specifying the number of Overseers to 
be elected, and the terms for which they are to be chosen, 
and directing said inspectors to conduct the election in 
manner and form as the law provides, with such other 
instructions as to their duties as may be deemed proper ; 
and shall furnish said inspectors with a record book and a 
complete list of the persons qualified to vote, to be used 
as a check-list. 

Sect. 34. — The inspectors shall carefully preserve all 
the ballots cast, and, after making their record thereof, 
shall cause the same to be sealed up in an envelope, which 
shall be indorsed with a certificate, under their hands, that 
the same contains all the ballots cast at the election for the 
officers therein specified, and none other. Immediately 
after the election, they shall deliver such envelope, so 



RULES AND BY-LAWS. 13 

sealed and indorsed, with said record book, upon Avhich 
they shall have entered their records, and said check list, 
to the Secretary of the Board. 

Sect. 35. — The Secretary shall forthwith notify the 
persons who appear by the records of the inspectors to be 
elected ; and such persons shall be entitled to their seats 
as members, except as provided in the following section, 
and subject to the decision of the Board upon their right 
to hold the same. 

Sect. 3(i. — When a i)erson is elected to till a vacancy, 
he shall not be entitled to hold his seat until the Board 
shall have decided his right thereto, if the person in whose 
place he was elected appears and claims the same. 

Sect. 37. — The records and papers of the inspectors 
of polls shall be laid before the Board at the next assem- 
bling thereof after the election, and the same shall be re- 
ferred to the Committee on Elections for their examination 
and report ; but they need not examine the ballots re- 
turned, unless specially directed so to do by the Board. 

ALTERATION AND SUSPENSION OF RULES. 

Section 38. — Any rule or by-law may be altered or 
repealed by a vote of two thirds of the members present 
and voting, at a meeting held at least seven days after a 
meeting at which the alteration or repeal is proposed ; and 
the notice for such meeting shall state that it is proposed 
to change the rules and by-laws. Any rule or by-law 



14 RULES AND BY-LAWS. 

may be suspended by a vote of two thirds of the members 
present and voting, except any rule requiring a decision 
to be by ballot, which shall only be suspended by the 
unanimous consent of the members present ; and except 
the rule in relation to the meeting and time at which the 
nomination of a member of the Corporation, or of a per- 
manent professor, may be ratified or finally acted upon 
by the Board, which shall never be suspended. 



CHAETER AND LAWS. 



CHAKTER A:N^D LAWS. 



The Act establishing the Overseers of Harvard College. 

At a General Court held at Boston, on the 8th of September, 
in the year 1642. 

Whereas, through the good hand of God upon us, there 
is a College founded in Cambridge, in the County of Mid- 
dlesex, called Harvard College, for the encouragement 
whereof this Court has given the sum of four hundred 
pounds, and also the revenue of the ferry betwixt Charles- 
town and Boston, and that the well ordering and managing 
of the said College is of great concernment, — 

It is therefore ordered by this Court and the authority 
thereof, that the Governor and Deputy-Governor for the 
time being, and all the magistrates of this jurisdiction, 
together with the teaching elders of the six next adjoining 
towns, — viz., Cambridge, Watertown, Charlestown, Bos- 
ton, Eoxbury, and Dorchester, — and the President of the 
said College for the time being, shall, from time to time, 
have full power and authority to make and establish all 
such orders, statutes, and constitutions as they shall see 
necessary for the instituting, guiding, and furthering of 



18 ACT ESTABLISHING BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 

the said College, and the several members thereof, from 
time to time, in piety, morality, and learning ; as also to 
dispose, order, and manage, to the use and behoof of the 
said College and the members thereof, all gifts, legacies, 
bequeaths, revenues, lands, and donations, as either have 
been, are, or shall be conferred, bestowed, or in any ways 
shall fall or come to the said College. 

And whereas it may come to pass that many of the said 
magistrates and elders may be absent, or otherwise em- 
ployed in other weighty aflfairs, wdien the College may 
need their present help and counsel, — It is therefore 
ordered, that the greater number of magistrates and elders 
which shall be present, with the President, shall have the 
power of the whole. Provided, that if any constitution, 
order, or orders, by them made, shall be found hurtful 
unto the said College, or the members thereof, or to the 
weal public, then, upon appeal of the party or parties 
grieved unto the company of Overseers first mentioned, 
they shall repeal the said order or orders, if they shall see 
cause, at their next meeting, or stand accountable thereof 
to the next General Court. 

[This act is copied from "The General Laws of the Massachusetts 
Colony, revised and published by order of the General Court in Octo- 
ber, 1658 " ; which was the second edition of the Laws of the Colony, 
and was printed in 1660. It varies slightly in phraseology from the 
Act contained in the Records of the General Court, vol. ii. page 24.] 



CHARTER. 19 



n. 



The Charter op the President and Fellows of Harvard 
College, under the seal of the Colony of Massachusetts 
Bay, and bearing date May 31, a.d. 1650. 

Whereas, through the good hand of God, many well- 
devoted persons have been, and daily are, moved and 
stirred up to give and bestow sundry gifts, legacies, lands, 
and revenues, for the advancement of all good literature, 
arts, and sciences, in Harvard College, in Cambridge, 
in the County of Middlesex, and to the maintenance of the 
President and Fellows, and for all accommodations of 
buildings, and all other necessary provisions that ma}^ 
conduce to the education of the English and Indian youth 
of this country in knowledge and godliness, — 

It is therefore ordered and enacted by this Court and 
the authority thereof, that for the furthering of so good a 
work, and for the purposes aforesaid, from henceforth that 
the said College in Cambridge, in Middlesex, in New 
England, shall be a Corporation, consisting of seven per- 
sons, to wit : a President, five Fellows, and a Treasurer or 
Bursar ; and that Henry Dunster shall be the first Presi- 
dent, Samuel Mather, Samuel Danforth, Masters of 
Art, Jonathan Mitchell, Comfort Starr, and Samuel 
Eaton, Bachelors of Art, shall be the five Fellows, and 
Thomas Danforth to be present Treasurer, all of them 
being inhabitants in the Bay, and shall be the first seven 
persons of which the said Corporation shall consist ; and 



20 CHARTER. 

that the said seven persons, or the greater number of them, 
procuring the presence of the Overseers of the College, 
and by their counsel and consent, shall have power, and 
are hereby authorized, at any time or times, to elect a new 
President, Fellows, or Treasurer, so oft, and from time to 
time, as any of the said persons shall die or be removed ; 
which said President and Fellows for the time being shall 
forever hereafter, in name and fact, be one body politic 
and corporate m law, to all intents and purposes, and shall 
have perpetual succession, and shall be called by the name 
of President and Felloivs of Harvard College, and shall 
from time to time be eligible as aforesaid ; and, by that 
name, the^'^ and their successors shall and may purchase 
and acquire to themselves, or take and receive upon fr.ee 
gift and donation, any lands, tenements, or hereditaments, 
within this jurisdiction of the Massachusetts, not exceeding 
the value of five hundred pounds per annum, and any 
goods and sums of money whatsoever to the use and be- 
hoof of the said President, Fellows, and scholars of the 
said College ; and also may sue and plead, or be sued and 
impleaded, by the name aforesaid, in all courts and places 
of judicature within the jurisdiction aforesaid. 

And that the said President, with any three of the Fel- 
lows, shall have power, and are hereby authorized, when 
they shall think fit, to make and appoint a common seal for 
the use of the said Corporation. And the President and 
Fellows, or the major part of them, from time to time, 
may meet and choose such officers and servants for the 
College, and make such allowance to them, and them also 



CHARTER. 21 

to remove, and, after death or removal, to choose such 
others, and to make from time to time such orders and 
by-laws, for the better ordering and carrying-on the work 
of the College, as they shall think fit; provided the said 
orders be allowed by the Overseers. And also that the 
President and Fellows, or major part of them, with the 
Treasurer, shall have power to make conclusive bargains 
for lands and tenements, to be purchased by the said Cor- 
poration for valuable considerations. 

And, for the better ordering of the government of the 
said College and Corporation, — Be it enacted by the 
authority aforesaid, that the President and three more of 
the Fellows shall and may from time to time, upon due 
warning or notice given by the President to the rest, hold 
a meeting for the debating and concluding of affairs con- 
cerning the profits and revenues of any lands, .and disposing 
of their goods (provided that all the said disposings be 
acc(n'ding to the will of the donors), and for direction in 
all emergent occasions, execution of all orders and by-laws, 
and for the procuring of a general meeting of all the Over- 
seers and Society in great and difficult cases, and in cases 
of non-agreement ; in all which cases aforesaid, the con- 
clusion shall be made by the major part, the said President 
having a casting voice, the Overseers consenting thereunto. 
And that all the aforesaid transactions shall tend to and 
for the use and behoof of the President, Fellows, scholars, 
and officers of the said College, and for all accommodations 
of buildings, books, and all other necessary provisions and 



22 CHARTER. 

furnitures as may be for the advancement and education 
of youth in all manner of good literature, arts, and sciences. 

And, further, be it ordered by this Court and the author- 
ity thereof, that all the lands, tenements, or hereditaments, 
houses, or revenues, within this jurisdiction, to the afore- 
said President or College appertaining, not exceeding the 
value of five hundred pounds per annum, shall from hence- 
forth be freed from all civil impositions, taxes, and rates ; 
all goods to the said Corporation, or to any scholars there- 
of, appertaining, shall be exempted from all manner of toll, 
customs, and excise, whatsoever; and that the said Presi- 
dent, Fellows, and scholars, together with the servants, 
and other necessary officers to the said President or College 
appertaining, not exceeding ten, — viz., three to the 
President and seven to the College belonging, — shall be 
exempted from all personal civil offices, military exercises 
or services ,watchings and wardings ; and such of their 
estates, not exceeding one hundred pounds a man, shall 
be free from all country taxes or rates whatsoever, and 
none others. 

In witness whereof, the Court hath caused the seal of 
the Colony to be hereunto affixed. Dated the one and 
thirtieth day of the third month, called May, anno 1650. 
[l. s.] Tho : Dudley, Governor, 

[The above is a copy of the original Charter engrossed on jDarch- 
ment, imder the signature of Gov. Dudley, with the Colony seal 
appendant, in the custody of the President and Fellows of Harvard 
College. The Charter, varying slightly in phraseology, is also con- 
tained in the Records of the General Court, vol. iv. page 10.] 



APPENDIX. 23 



III. 



An Appendix to the College Charter, granted by an Act 
OF THE General Court of the Colony passed a.d. 1657. 

At a General Court held at Boston, the lith of October, 1657. 

In answer to certain proposals presented to this Court 
by the Overseers of Harvard College, as an appendix 
to the College Charter, it is ordered, — 

The Corporation shall have power, from time to time, 
to make such orders and by-laws, for the better ordering 
and carrying-on of the work of the College, as they shall 
see cause, without dependence upon the consent of the 
Overseers foregoing. Provided always, that the Corpo- 
ration shall be responsible unto, and those orders and by- 
laws shall be alterable by, the Overseers, according to 
their discretion. 

And when the Corporation shall hold a meeting, and 
agreeing with College servants, for making of orders and 
by-laws, for debating and concluding of affairs concerning 
the prohts and revenues of any lands or gifts, and the 
disposing thereof (provided that all the said disposals 
be according to the will of the donors), for managing of 
all emergent occasions, for the procuring of a general 
meeting of the Overseers and Society in great and difficult 
cases, and in cases of non-agreement, and for all other 
College affairs to them pertaining, — in all these cases the 
conclusion shall be valid, being made by the major part 
of the Corporation, the President having a casting vote. 



24 APPENDIX. 

Provided always, that, in these things also, they be re- 
sponsible to the Overseers as aforesaid. 

And in case the Corporation shall see cause to call a 
meeting of the Overseers, or the Overseers shall think 
good to meet of themselves, it shall be sufficient unto the 
validity of College acts, that notice be given to the Over- 
seers in the six towns mentioned in the printed law, anno 
1642, when the rest of the Overseers, by reason of the 
remoteness of their habitations, cannot conveniently be 
acquainted therewith. 

[This Act is taken fi'om the Records of the General Court, vol. iv. 
page 265.] 



CONFIRMATION OF CHARTER. 25 

IV. 

Extract from a Resolve of the Provincial General Court, 

PASSED A.D. 1707, DECLARING THE COLLEGE ChARTER OF 

1650 not repealed, and directing the president and 
Fellows of the College to exercise the Power granted 

BY IT. 

At a Great and General Court for her Majesty's Province of 
the Massachusetts Bay, begun and held at Boston upon the 
28th of May, 1707, and continued by several prorogations 
unto the 29th of October following , being the third session. 
IN COUNCIL. 

Thursday, Dec. 4, 1707. 
And inasmuch as the first foundation and establishment 
of that House [Harvard College, in Cambridge], and the 
government thereof, had its original from an act of the 
General Court, made and passed in the year 1650, which 
has not been repealed or nulled, — the President and Fel- 
lows of the said College are directed, from time to time, to 
regulate themselves according to the rules of the Constitu- 
tion by the said Act prescribed, and to exercise the powers 
and authorities thereby granted for the government of that 
House, and the support thereof. 

Saturday, Dec. 6, 1707. 
The Representatives returned the Vote passed in Coun- 
cil, the 4th current, referring to the College, with their 
concurrence thereunto. 

By his Excellency the Governor, consented to, 

Joseph Dudley. 

[This Resolve is taken from the Records of the General Coiu-t, vol. 
viii. page 344,] 



26 PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 

V. 

The Articles of the Constitution of the Commonwealth 
OF Massachusetts, confirming and securing to Harvard 
College the perpetual Possession and Enjoyment of all 
its Estates, Rights, Powers, and Privileges. 

CHAPTER V. 

Sect. I. — The Universitij . 

Article 1. — Whereas our wise and pious ancestors, 
so early as the year one thousand six hundred and thirty- 
six, laid the foundation of Harvard College, in which 
Uni\"ersity many persons of great eminence have, by the 
blessing of God, been initiated in those arts and sciences 
which qualified them for public employments both in 
Church and State ; and whereas the encouragement of arts 
and sciences and all sfood literature tends to the honor of 
God, the advantage of the Christian religion, and the 
great benefit of this and the other United States of America, 
— It is declared that the President and Felloivs of Har- 
vard College in their corporate capacity, and their succes- 
sors in that capacity, their officers and servants, shall have, 
hold, use, exercise, and enjoy all the powers, authorities, 
rights, liberties, privileges, immunities, and franchises 
which they now have, or are entitled to have, hold, use, 
exercise, and enjoy ; and the same are hereby ratified and 
confirmed unto them, the said President and Fellows of 
Harvard College, and to their successors, and to their 
officers and servants respectively, forever. 



PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTIOX. 27 

Art. 2. — And whereas there have been at sundry 
times, by divers persons, gifts, grants, devises of houses, 
lands, tenements, goods, chattels, legacies, and convey- 
ances, heretofore made either to Harvard College, in Cam- 
bridge, in New England, or to the President and Fellows 
of Harvard College, or to the said College by some other 
description, under several charters successively, — It is 
declared that all the said gifts, grants, devises, legacies, 
and conveyances are hereby forever confirmed unto the 
President and Fellows of Harvard College, and to their 
successors in the capacity aforesaid, according to the true 
intent and meaning of the donor or donors, grantor or 
grantors, devisor or devisors. 

Art. 3. — And whereas, by an Act of the General 
Court of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, passed in the 
year one thousand six hundred and forty-two, the Gover- 
nor and Deputy-Governor for the time being, and all the 
magistrates of that jurisdiction, were with the President, 
and a number of the clergy in the said Act described, con- 
stituted the Overseers of Harvard College ; and it being 
necessary, in this new constitution of government, to as- 
certain who shall be deemed successors to the said Gover- 
nor, Deputy-Governor, and magistrates, — It is declared 
that the ^Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Council, and 
Senate of this Commonwealth are and shall be deemed 
their successors ; who with the President of Harvard Col- 
lege for the time being, together with the ministers of the 
Congregational churches in the towns of Cambridge, 



28 PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 

Watertown, Charlestown, Boston, Roxbury, and Dor- 
chester, mentioned in the said Act, shall be, and hereby 
are, vested with all the powers and authority belonging or 
in any way appertaining to the Overseers of Harvard 
College. Provided, that nothing herein shall be construed 
to prevent the Legislature of this Commonwealth from 
making such alterations in the government of the said 
University as shall be conducive to its advantage, and the 
interest of the republic of letters, in as full a manner as 
might have been done by the Legislature of the late 
Provijice of the Massachusetts Bay. 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 29 



VI. 



Ax Act to alter and amend the Constitution of the 
Board of Overseers of Harvard College. 

Whereas the menil)ers of the Board of Overseers of 
Harvard College, as heretofore constituted, cannot con- 
veniently nor constantly attend to the diligent discharge 
of the duties enjoined on it : — 

Section 1. — The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, 
Counsellors, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the 
House of Representatives of the Commonwealth, and the 
President of Harvard Collegfe for the time beinof, with 
fifteen ministvirs of Congregational churches and fifteen 
laymen all inhabitants Avithin the State, to be elected as is 
hereafter mentioned, shall forever hereafter constitute the 
Board of Overseers of Harvard College ; they, or the major 
part of them present at any legal meeting, to exercise and 
enjoy all the rights, powers, and privileges, and to be 
subject to all the duties, of the existing Board of Overseers 
of Harvard College. Provided, however^ that all the min- 
isters of Congregational churches who are members of 
that Board shall remain members of the Board of Overseers 
established by this Act, so long as they shall continue 
ministers respectively of their Congregational churches, 
and no longer. 

[Sect. 2. — As soon as conveniently may be after this Act shall be 
in force, the present Secretary of the Board of Overseei's, or, if that 
office be vacant, the President or a major jjart of the Fellows of 
Harvard College, shall call a meeting of the Overseers of Harvard 



30 BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 

College, to be holden at some suitable time and place, for electing 
fifteen laymen, inhabitants of the State, to be members of the Boai'd 
of Overseers ; the said meeting to be notified by publishing the time 
and place of holding the same, in each of the jJi^blic newspapers 
printed in Boston, ten days at the least before the time of holding the 
same ; and the said elections to be made by ballot, by the major part 
of the Overseers pi'esent ; and all persons who then, if this Act had 
not been in force, would have been members of the Boai'd of OA^er- 
seers of Harvard College, shall have right to meet and vote in the 
said elections.] 

Sect. 3. — The Board of Overseers, as constituted by 
this Act, may, at any legal meeting, choose by a majority 
of votes a Secretary, when that office shall be vacant, who 
shall be under oath truly to record all the votes and pro- 
ceedings of the Board, and foithfully to discharge all the 
duties of his office ; and the said Board may at any legal 
meeting, by a majority of votes, determine from time to 
time when and in what manner its meetings shall be held, 

called and notified : [and, at any legal meeting of the said Board, 
the Governor, if present, shall preside ; if not, the Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor, if present, shall preside ; in their absence, the oldest member of 
the Council present shall preside : if they also be absent, the President 
of the Senate shall preside, if present ; but in his absence also, the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives shall preside ; and if neither 
of them be present, the greater part of the Overseers present at such 
meeting shall chose a president pro tempore, and until one of the 
officers aforesaid shall be present.] Provided, nevertheless, that 

the Secretary of the Overseers shall have power to call a 

meeting of the said Board, at such times as he shall be 

thereto requested by the President and Fellows of Harvard 

College ; such meeting to be notified as the said Board 

shall direct. 

Sect. 4. — [When any minister of any Congregational church, 
being a member of the said Board, shall cease to have the ministerial 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 31 

relation he now has, or may have had at the time of his election, or.] 

when any member of the elective part of the said Board 

shall remove out of the State, the place of such [minister or] 

member shall thereupon become vacant. And the said 

Board may at any legal meeting, by a vote of the greater 

number present, remove from his place any member of the 

elective part of the said Board who shall neglect to attend 

the meetings thereof, without reasonable excuse, when 

duly notified, or who liy his immoral conduct shall have 

rendered himself unworthy of holding his place ; but, 

before any vote shall pass to remove any member, he shall 

have reasonable notice, and a fit opportunity to be heard 

in his defence. 

[Sect. 5. — For establishing a perpetual succession in the elective 
part of the said Board, whenever a vacancy shall happen thei'ein, bj' 
death, I'esignation, or otherwise, the Overseers may, at a legal meet- 
ing, by a majority of the votes present, fill up such A^acancy by elect- 
ing therefor some suitable person, who shall be an inhabitant of the 
State. Provided, however, that no minister of any Congregational 
church shall be so elected when there are fifteen ministers of Congre- 
gational churches members of the elective part of the said Board, nor 
shall any laymen be so elected when there are fifteen laymen members 
of the elective part of the said Board ; but, in all cases when there are 
fifteen ministers and fifteen laymen members of the elective iDart of 
the said Board, there shall not be deemed to be any vacancy therein.] 

Sect. 6. — This Act shall be in force when the Over- 
seers of Harvard College, as heretofore constituted, and 
the President and Fellows of Harvard College, shall aojree 
to accept the provisions in this Act contained. 

[March 6, 1810.] 

[The provisions of this Act were accepted by the President and 
Fellows on the IGth of March, 1810 ; and by the Overseers, on the 
12th of April in the same year.] 



32 BOARD OF OVERSEEKS. 



VII. 

An Act to repeal an Act entitled " An Act to alter and 
amend the constitution of the overseers of harvard 
College," and to regulate certain Meetings of that 
Board. 

[Section 1. — An Act made and passed the seventh day of March, 
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight liundred and ten, entitled 
" An Act to alter and amend the Constitution of the Board of Over- 
seers of Harvard College," be, and the same is hereby, repealed ; and 
the Board of Overseers, from and after the passing of this Act, shall 
be constituted in the same way and manner, and be composed of the 
same persons, and no othei's, that it would have been had the same 
Act never been made or passed. 

Sect. 2. — There shall be a meeting of the Board of Overseers of 
Hansard College, as the same will be constituted after the passing of 
this Act, on the second Wednesday of the first session of the General 
Court annually, in the Senate Chamber, at three o'clock in the after- 
noon (unless otherwise ordered by the said Board of Overseers), if 
the General Coui't shall remain so long in session, and at such other 
times and places as the said Board shall order ; at which annual meet- 
ing it shall be the duty of the Secretary of said Board, at the first 
meeting thereof, to lay before them the records and proceedings of 
the Corporation of Harvard College, and of the said Board of Over- 
seers, which have been had since the passing of the Act aforesaid, 
which is hereby repealed ; and, in like manner, all the proceedings 
which may have been had by said Corporation, and Board of Over- 
seers, shall be laid before them at their next succeeding meeting, to 
be held agreeably to the provisions of this Act.] [Feb. 29, 1812.] 

[This Act was not assented to by the Overseers, or by the Pi-esident 
and Fellows ; but its validity was denied by both Boards, and it was 
repealed by the Act on the next page.] 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 33 



VIII. 



An Act to restore the Board of Overseers of Harvard 
College, and to make an addition thereto. 

Section 1. — An Act made and passed on the twenty- 
eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord one 
thousand eight hundred and twelve, entitled "An Act to 
repeal an Act entitled ' An Act to alter and amend the 
Constitution of the Board of Overseers of Harvard College,' 
and to regulate certain meetings of the Board," be, and 
the same is hereby, repealed. 

[Sect. 2. — The Senate of this Commonwealth shall be, and they 
hereby ai'e, added to the Board of Overseers constituted by an Act 
made and passed on the fifth day of March, in the year of om* Lord 
one thousand eight hundred and ten, entitled "An Act to alter and 
amend the Constitution of tlie Boai'd of Overseers of Harvard College," 
and shall, together with the persons mentioned in the said last-men- 
tioned Act, hereafter constitute the Board of Overseers of Harvard 
College ; they, or the major part of them present at any legal meeting, 
to exercise and enjoy all the I'ights, powers, and pi'ivileges, and to be 
subject to all the duties, of the Board of Overseers constituted under 
the said last-mentioned Act.] 

Sect. 3. — This Act shall be in force when the Over- 
seers of Harvard College, constituted by the last-mentioned 
Act, and the President and Fellows of Harvard College, 
shall agree to accept the provisions of this Act. 

[Feb. 28, 1814.] 

[The provisions of this Act were accepted by the President and 
Fellows on the 10th of March, 181-i ; and by the Overseers, on the 
17th of the same month.] 



34 BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 

IX. 

An Act in addition to " An Act to alter and amend the 
Constitution of the Board of Overseers of Harvard 
College." 

[Section 1. — Whenever any vacancy exists in the clerical part of 
the Board of Overseers of Hai"vai-d College, the Boai'd, in filling such 
vacancy, agreeably to the provisions of the statute of one thousand 
eight hundred and nine, chapter one hundred and fourteenth, may 
elect any stated minister of a church of Christ, ordained agreeably to 
the usages of the order to which he may belong. Provided, that when 
any minister so elected shall cease to have the ministerial relation he 
had at the time of his election, or shall remove out of the Common- 
wealth, the place of such minister at said Board shall thereupon be- 
come vacant. 

Sect. 2. — This Act shall be in force when the Overseers of Har- 
vard College, and the President and Fellows of Harvard College, 
shall accept the provisions of the same.] [March 28th, 1834.] 

[The provisions of this Act were accepted.by the Overseers on the 
16th of February, 1843 ; and by the President and Fellows, on the 
25th of the same month.] 

X. 

An Act to change the Organization of the Board of 
Overseers of the University at Cambridge. 

[Section 1. — The Board of Overseers of Harvard College, as 
constituted by existing laws, shall continue until the day of the next 
annual meeting of the General Court, and no longer.] 

Sect. 2. — [The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, President of 
the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives of the 
Commonwealth, the Secretary of the Board of Education, and] the 

President and Treasurer of Harvard College, for the time 

being, together with thirty other persons, as hereinafter 

defined and described, and no others, shall [on and after the 

day of the next annual meeting of the General Court] constitute 

the Board of Overseers of Harvard College ; they, or the 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 35 

major part of them present at any legal meeting, to 
exercise and enjoy all the rights, powers, and privileges, 
and to be subject to all the duties, of the existing Board 
of Overseers. 

[Sect. 3. — The thirty persons, who, in addition to the ex-officio 
members thereof, now constitute the Board of Overseers, shall be 
divided into three classes of ten each, by lot or otherwise, as they 
themselves may determine ; and the persons of the first class shall go 
out of office on the day of the next annual meeting of the General 
Court, and their places be sui^plied by joint ballot of the Senators 
and Representatives of the Commonwealth, assembled in one room ; 
and the persons of the second class shall go out of office on the day 
of the annual meeting of the General Court, which will be in 
the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, and their 
places be supplied in like manner by joint ballot of the Senators and 
Representatives ; and the persons of the third class shall go out of 
office on the day of the annual meeting of the General Court which 
will be in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, and 
their places be supplied in like manner by joint ballot of the Senators 
and Representatives. Provided, that the persons of each of the said 
outgoing classes shall continue in office for tw-o months after the day of 
the said annual meeting of the General Court, unless their successors 
shall have been sooner chosen by the Senators and Representatives.] 

Sect. 4. — [When the Board of Overseers shall have been 
wholly renewed in the mamier prescribed in the foregoing section.] 
the members thereof shall be divided into six equal classes 
[by subdivision of the previous classes into two each, according to lot 
or otherwise, as the Boai'd may determine, and having regard to sen- 
iority of service among the said previous classes in arranging the 
order of precedence of the new series] ; and the said six classes 
shall [thereafter] go out of office in rotation, and in order of 
precedence as thus defined, one at each successive annual 
[meeting of the General Court, and their places be supplied by joint 
ballot of the Senators and Representatives]. (Commencement.*) 
* By Act of 1865, see page 38. 



36 BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 

[Sect. 5. — Any vacancy occurring in the said Board of Overseers, 
whether by death, resignation, removal from the Commonwealth, or 
otherwise, shall be filled by joint ballot of the Senators and Represen- 
tatives, as hereinbefore provided ; and if the (General Court shall omit 
to fill, within three months fi-om the day of its annual meeting as 
aforesaid, any existing vacancy, then such vacancy may be filled by 
the remaining Overseers ; but the person so elected to fill any vacancy, 
whether by Senators and Representatives or by the Overseers, shall 
be deemed a member of, and go out of oflfice with, the class to which 
his predecessor belonged.] 

[Sect. 6. — The Governor, if present, shall preside at any legal 
meeting of said Board of Overseei's ; if not, the Lieutenant-Governor ; 
in their absence, the President of the Senate ; in his absence, the 
Speaker of the Hoiise of Representatives ; but if neither of the persons 
named be jjresent, then the meeting shall elect a i^resident ^jrote?>;j>ore ,•] 

and the said Board may choose by majority of votes a Sec- 
retary, when that office shall be vacant, who shall be under 
oath truly to record the votes and proceedings of the 
Board, and faithfully to discharge all the duties of his 
office ; and the said Board may make, establish, and alter 
such rules of proceeding, and other by-laws, as they shall 
deem meet, provided that the same be not inconsistent 
with the constitution and laws of the Commonwealth. 

Sect. 7 . — [No member of the General Court which elects shall 
be eligible to a place in the said Board of Overseers ; and] no per- 
son shall be re-eligible for more than one term immediately 
succeeding that for which he shall have been first elected. 

Sect. 8. — This Act shall be in force when the Board 
of Overseers as heretofore constituted, and the President 
and Fellows of Harvard College, respectively, at meetings 
held for that purpose during the present session of the 
General Court, shall by vote have assented to the same ; 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 37 

provided, that nothing contained herein shall be deemed 
to prejudice any constitutional powers which may be pos- 
sessed by the General Court. 

Sect. 9. — All Acts, or parts of Acts, inconsistent 
herewith are repealed. [May 22, 1851.] 

[This Act was assented to by the President and Fellows on the 22d 
of May, 1851 ; and by the Overseers on the same day.] 

XI. 

An Act explanatory of the Acts relating to the Organi- 
zation OF the Board of Overseers of the University 
AT Cambridge. 

Section 1 . — The several Acts relating to the organi- 
zation of the Board of Overseers of Harvard College shall 
be so construed as to empower the Board to order and 
provide, by rule or by-law, what number of the members 
thereof, not less than nine, shall constitute a quorum or 
legal meeting of the same. 

Sect. 2. — This Act shall take effect from and after its 
passage. [March 3, 1852.] 

XII. 

An Act in addition to the Act to change the Organization 
of the Board of Overseers of the University at 
Cambridge. 

[Section 1. — All elections to fill vacancies in the Board of Over- 
seers of Harvard College shall hereafter be by concurrent vote of the 
two branches of the General Court. 

Sect. 2. — The members of said Board of each of the outgoing 
classes shall continue in office for two months after the day of the 
annual meeting of the General Court, notwithstanding that their suc- 
cessors may have been sooner chosen. 



38 BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 

Sect. 3. — This Act shall be in force when the Board of Overseers 
and the Pi'esident and Fellows of Harvard College, resiiectively, at 
meetings held for that j^urpose, prior to the first day of February next, 
shall by vote have assented to the same ; provided, that nothing here- 
in contained shall be deemed to prejudice any constitutional jiowers 
which may be possessed by the General Comt.] [Aj^ril 6, 1859.] 

[This Act was assented to by the Overseers on the 26th of January, 
1860 ; and by the President and Fellows on the 28th of the same month.] 

XIII. 

An Act in relation to the Board of Overseers of 
Harvard College. 

Section 1. — The places of the successive classes in 
the Board of Overseers of Harvard College, and the vacan- 
cies in such classes, shall hereafter be annually supplied 
by ballot of such persons as have received from the College 
a degree of bachelor of arts, or master of arts, or any 
honorary degree, voting on Commencement Day in the 
city of Cambridge ; such election to be first held in the 
year eighteen hundred and sixty-six : provided, hoivever, 
that no member of the corporation, and no officer of 
government or instruction in said College, shall be eligible 
as an Overseer, or entitled to vote in the election of Over- 
seers ; and provided, /wither, that no person who has re- 
ceived from said College the degree of bachelor of arts 
shall be entitled to vote for Overseers before the fifth 
annual election after the graduation of his class. 

Sect. 2. — The Board of Overseers shall annually ap- 
point one principal and two or more assistant inspectors 
of polls, who shall, on Commencement Day, from the hour 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 39 

of ten in the forenoon to the hour of four in the afternoon, 
at some phice in said city of Cambridge, fixed by said 
Board, receive the votes for Overseers, and they shall sort 
and count such votes, and make public declaration thereof, 
after the closing of the polls ; and said inspectors shall be 
provided with a complete list of the persons qualified to 
vote at such election, and no person shall vote until the 
inspectors find and check his name upon such list. The 
names of the persons voted for, the number of votes re- 
ceived for each person, and the vacancy or place in said 
Board for which he is proposed, shall be entered in words 
at length, hy said inspectors, upon a record kept by them 
for that purpose, wdaich shall, after such election, be forth- 
Avith made up, signed, and delivered by them to the Board 
of Overseers. The persons wdio shall receive the highest 
number of votes for the places or vacancies in said Board 
shall, to the number of Overseers to be elected, be deemed 
and shall be declared by said Board elected to be members 
thereof. 

Sect. 3. — The Board of Overseers shall give notice 
of the place of the polls, the hours during which they are 
open, and the number of Overseers to be elected, by pub- 
lishing the same at least ten days before Commencement 
Day in some newspaper printed in the city of Boston. 

Sect. 4. — The terms of office of the existing, classes 
of Overseers are extended to the close of Commencement 
Day of the year in wdiich such terms severally expire ; 
the terms of office of the classes hereafter elected shall 



40 BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 

successively expire at the close of Commencement Day 
each year in their order ; and the persons elected Overseers 
on any Commencement Day shall supply the places of the 
class of Overseers which goes out of office at the close of 
that day, and the vacancies then existing in said Board. 

Sect. 5. — Whenever there shall be a failure on Com- 
mencement Day to supply any places or vacancies in the 
Board of Overseers, the same may be filled by vote of the 
remaining Overseers ; and any person elected to fill a 
vacancy shall be deemed to be a member of, and to go 
out of office with, the class to which his predecessor be- 
longed. 

Sect. 6. — The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Pres- 
ident of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representa- 
tives, and Secretary of the Board of Education, shall not 
be ex-officio members of the Board of Overseers of Har- 
vard Colleo-e after this Act shall be in force. 

Sect. 7. — This Act shall be in force when the Board 
of Overseers and the President and Fellows of Harvard 
College, respectively, at meetings held for that purpose, 
shall by vote have assented to the same. 

Sect. 8. — This Act shall not be construed as in the 
nature of a contract or a charter, but may at any time be 
repealed at the pleasure of the Legislature. 

[April 28, 1865.] 

[This Act was assented to by the Overseers on the 21st of Septem- ■ 
bar, 1865 ; and by the Pi-esident and Fellows, on the 15th of Decem- 
ber of the same year.] ' 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 41 



XIV. 

An Act to provide for the Eligibility of Persons not 
Inhabitants of this Commonwealth as Overseers of 
Harvard College. 

Section 1 . — Persons not inhabitants of this Common- 
wealth and otherwise qualified shall be eligible as Over- 
seers of Harvard Colleije. 

Sect. 2. — This Act shall take effect on its acceptance 
by the President and Fellows and by the Board of Over- 
seers of Harvard College, respectively, at meetings held 
for that purpose. [March 5, 1880.] 

[This Act was accepted by the President and Fellows on May 31, 
1880; and by the Overseers on June 2, 1880.] 



XV. 

An Act to amend chapter one hundred and seventy-three 
OF THE Acts of the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five 
in relation to the Board of Overseers of Harvard 
College. 

Be it enacted^ etc. , as follows : 

Section 1. — Section two of chapter one hundred and 
seventy-three of the Acts of the year eighteen hundred and 
sixty-five is amended by striking out all of said section 
after the w^ord " list" in the eleventh line thereof, and by 
inserting in place thereof the following : The names of 
the persons voted for, and the number of votes received 
for each person, shall be entered in words at length by 



42 BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 

said inspectors upon a record kept by them for that pur- 
pose, which shall, after such election, be forthwith made 
up, signed and delivered by them to the Board of Over- 
seers. The persons who shall receive the highest number 
of votes for the places in said Board, shall to the number 
of Overseers to be elected, be deemed and declared by said 
Board to be elected members thereof for the following 
terms, to wit : the five persons receiving the highest num- 
ber of votes shall be declared elected to the class having 
the longest term, and in case any vacancy or vacancies 
exist in any other class or classes, the persons voted for 
shall be declared elected to such vacancy or vacancies 
according to the number of votes received by them, the 
person or persons receiving the next highest number of 
votes being declared elected to the class having the next 
longest term to run, and so on in order for other vacancies. 
In case by reason of a tie it shall be uncertain to which 
class any persons should be declared elected, the Board of 
Overseers shall by vote determine to which classes the 
persons receiving the same number of votes shall be as- 
signed. 

Sect. 2. — This Act shall take effect upon its passage. 

[Approved March 19, 1889.] 




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